Want to Publish in the New Yorker? Start with These 12 Lit Mags

I did research and now we're all gonna get FAMOUS, friends!

Oct 21, 2025

∙ Paid

Like most of you, I’ve dreamed of publishing in The New Yorker. Even when it seems silly. Even when I read something in there that makes me go what? And especially when I read a story or poem that’s genuinely moving.

It got me thinking: while I wait around to be discovered in a blaze of glory, are there actual stepping stones to this thing? Turns out, yes!

Which is to say, I kinda went a bit crazy and read through a bunch of the recent New Yorker archives and then did some digging (it’s super scientific, you gotta trust) to trace out where some writers published in the New Yorker published before achieving this elusive rite of passage.

And my erratic research got me thinking further…do y’all want me to do more of this to find real-time data into who’s publishing who and what that means for you?

I do want to add, of course, that having work featured in The New Yorker is likely very much a mix of a healthy (or I suppose unhealthy if you get what I mean) dose of luck alongside connections (whether these are editorial or agent-side). BUT, I can certify that landing in any of these lit mags below can only contribute positively towards your journey to one day be the one whose story is in that fancy-ass disgustingly cool font.

We can dream, and god damn it, we should.

Another interesting thing I noticed: there was massive crossover. The same journals kept appearing in writers’ bios. Which tells you these lit mags are more than stepping stones… they’re prestigious in their own right, and New Yorker editors are likely also reading them.

So. If you’re serious about this, below’s where to aim for first (and I’ve linked the writer that inspired my including that lit mag along with their recent New Yorker piece).